包氏文藝中心體驗華埠藝術節展示6幅壁畫 9/30有現場表演

 September 18, 2023 - Boston, MA- Pao Arts Center’s Experience Chinatown Arts Festival returns to celebrate the rich cultural fabric of Boston Chinatown and the Asian American Pacific Islander creative community through vibrant window murals, live performances, and creative activities for all.  

Throughout the festival’s duration from now through October 14, visitors and residents are invited to view colorful and bold window murals at participating local businesses and organizations, addressing the 2023 Experience Chinatown mural prompt of “What makes a community thrive?” This year, six original murals were created by local artists including one by a group of youths from the Boston Chinatown Neighborhood Center (BCNC) led by Boston-based artist and educator, Nell Valle. 

“I felt really inspired returning to create a second mural, this time working with youth. I knew these bright teens were so capable of the entire artist process from researching, sketching, and painting, so I encouraged them to really lean into the adventure. Guiding them through the mural felt like I'm passing my paintbrush down to others and sharing that love for art, community, and what's possible is why I love this work. Plus, I learn from them too where they give me hope for the seasons to come. Thank you to all the youth and Pao Arts Center for having us!” shares Nell Valle. 

Murals on display throughout Chinatown by artists include:

-       “What Makes a Community Thrive” by BCNC Youth Center, 38 Ash Street

-       “A Communal Blend” by Jennifer Duan at APM Coffee, 99 Kneeland Street

-       “Unity” by Jinyi Duan at Crave Chinatown, 75 Kneeland Street

-       “Welcoming Dishes” by Yuan-yuan Wang at WakuWaku, 2 Tyler Street

-       “We Protect Each Other” by Yixuan Zeng at Q Restaurant, 660 Washington Street

-       “Let’s Eat” by Jialu Zou at Happy Lamb Hotpot Boston, 693 Washington Street 

This year’s celebration of Experience Chinatown Arts Festival will be held at Auntie Kay and Uncle Frank Chin Park on the Greenway on Saturday, September 30 between 11 am to 3:30 pm. Visitors are invited to celebrate the rich cultural fabric of Boston Chinatown through a variety of creative activities:

-       Guided tours of Experience Chinatown murals at 11:15 am or 1:00 pm

-       Live performances by local musicians including soft-punk solo project TIFFY, singer-songwriter Maddie Lam, and Canto-pop cover band JukSing

-       Contemporary Dance performance by the Continuum Dance Project as part of the Momentum Greenway Dance Program

-       Traditional Chinese lion dance by Nuwa Athletic Club 

All events are family-friendly, free to the public and open to all. For more information, please visit www.paoartscenter.org/events/experiencechinatown2023 

This years' Experience Chinatown Arts Festival is particularly unique in that the festival is part of  Chinatown HOPE, a collaboration between eight Chinatown organizations and Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, to activate open space in the neighborhood through free gardening brigades and wellness programs featuring creative activities. 

Pao Arts Center Director, Cynthia Woo, shares, “Activating outdoor and green spaces in Chinatown has been a longstanding wish from the neighborhood and the wider Chinatown community. Now, as the climate crisis and gentrification both accelerate in the neighborhood, it is even more important to ensure Chinatown has agency to activate its green and open spaces to serve community members’ wellbeing and recreational needs. We are so excited to bring our wellbeing and community-grounded perspective in the arts to this multi-organizational initiative.” 

This event is made possible by our supporters and partners, including: Capital One, Chinatown HOPE, City of Boston, Comcast NBCUniversal, Emerson College, Hult International Business School, Liberty Mutual Insurance, Massachusetts Cultural Council, Northeastern University Office of City & Community Engagement, Orange Barrel Media, Point32 Health, Reimer and Braunstein LLP, Rockland Trust, Rose Kennedy Greenway Conservancy, Sasaki Foundation, Sensata, South Cove Community Health Center, State Street Corporation, Suffolk University Center for Community Engagement, TD Charitable Foundation, The Kensington, , The Tower at One Greenway, TJX Companies, Tufts University, and Tufts Medical Center.